Prue’s fingers tightened around Mona’s as she, too, took in the scene before them. Neither of them said a word. The air was potent with grief and despair.
Nothing could be said. Because it was clear that Lilith, a Gorgon sister, someone who was meant to be powerful and unstoppable, was dead.
Romanos’s eyes fixed on Mona, and he straightened. “Mona,” he said.
She went to his side, taking Prue with her. Together, they crouched next to him, and Mona took his free hand in hers and squeezed it. “What happened?” she asked gently. Marina and Vivian were too consumed with grief to speak, but perhaps Romanos could explain.
The death god’s silver-streaked hair was matted with blood and dirt. His eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed as if he, too, had been crying. He blinked several times before he spoke.
“We were meeting with the Thanassian delegation,” he said quietly. “Things were going well. We were set to return the following day. But… there was a massive earthquake. The ground split in two. And from below emerged this… horrible creature.” He inhaled a shuddering breath, his expression so haunted that it stirred something in Mona’s soul.
This was a god who had worked in Tartarus for eons. He had witnessed the vilest of souls and the darkest of prisons.
If something had spooked him, Mona knew it had to have been something utterly horrifying.
“It was a Cyclops,” Marina said suddenly. Tears still streamed down her face, but her eyebrows were lowered, and the set of her jaw betrayed her fury. “But it was somethingelse.It was coated in death magic that we could not penetrate. It wasmassive.” She shook her head slowly. “In all my years, I have never seen anything like it. It was wholly unnatural.”
Unnatural.That could only mean one thing…
“The Titans,” Mona whispered. “They must have created it.”
Romanos nodded grimly. “It destroyed the Thanassian castle and the entire delegation. We held it off as long as we could to get the people out of the city. But… it was too big. Too powerful.” He closed his eyes, his face turning ashen. “Never before have I encountered magic like that in this realm. Cyclopes are creatures of death magic. Creatures ofTartarus.They shouldn’t even be allowed here.”
“No, they shouldn’t,” said another voice.
Mona looked up to find Cyrus standing behind Prue, his arms crossed and his face full of fury. “The Titans drew from a power that was not theirs to take.” His gaze shifted to Prue, and sorrow filled his blue eyes. “It was Lagos.”
Prue stiffened beside Mona. “What are you talking about?” Her voice shook.
“Besides my brothers and me, Lagos was the only other one here who held the keys to Tartarus. Unless the Titans returned to the Underworld themselves, that’s the onlyexplanation for how they accessed such magic and created these beings.”
“But… Lagos died,” Mona whispered. Prue was trembling so violently that Mona wrapped her arms around her, trying to keep her calm.
“His soul hadn’t passed on yet,” Cyrus said. “Magic is tethered to the soul, and the Titans are powerful enough to pull on that essence before it reaches the Underworld.”
Mona’s chest felt hollow. Goddess above, he was right. She of all people knew how sacred the bond between a soul and a person’s magic was. She felt sick at the thought of the Titans using Lagos’s fallen body like that.
Prue groaned, her body caving inward as her eyes closed. Her brows pulled together, and her mouth twisted in a horrified grimace. “Goddess, this can’t be true. How can they—I can’t?—”
Mona tightened her embrace, clutching her sister to her chest. Cyrus’s face crumpled, and he looked as if he yearned to carry Prue away from here. Mona nodded at him, indicating she understood.
Both of them would do anything to shield Prue from this.
But there was no hiding from this. Not anymore.
The Titans had made their move. This was a declaration of war.
LIVE
EVANDER
As Evander crossedthrough the portal to the Underworld, Mona’s words echoed in his mind:Sometimes our souls long for something we cannot recognize until we find it. And Goddess, I hope you find it, Evander. I hope you find it soon.
Gods, he was so lost.
The air shimmered, and power cascaded over his body. In an instant, he had been transported from the desert cavern to the foggy expanse of the Underworld. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but once they did, he froze.
A crowd of demons stood in front of the portal, with Theo and Maleck in the front. Their eyes were anxious, their faces taut with apprehension.
